GOOD ENERGY. TOO GOOD TO WASTE.

Our low-cost summer energy actions

Appliances could be costing your organisation a bomb if they are left on standby out of hours. Does your community service have a modem, printer, water cooler, wifi router or microwave oven? Use our calculator below to gauge how much money your community service might be losing by leaving them on outside work hours. Speak to your manager or team about installing timers to automatically switch them off out of hours. Timers are often already built in to newer models of printers, boiling water units and sink-mounted water coolers – it’s worth checking that they are set correctly for the working hours of your community service.

Water coolers and boiling water units both use lots of energy changing the temperature of your water. Running them out of hours, or for only a couple people, means you’re losing money. Have a chat with your team about whether you need a water cooler, or whether a bottle of water from the fridge would do. If you have less than 3 staff using the boiling water unit you’re better off switching it off and using an electric kettle, only boiling as much water as you need. When you buy new boilers and water coolers, choose an energy star rated model, which can be up to 50% more efficient. Download our factsheet for more tips.

Every extra fridge adds around $300 to your organisation’s energy bill. If your community service is only using them for an occasional event, you can make immediate savings by switching them off when they’re not in use. Similarly, if you have a spare fridge running that’s mostly empty, consolidate the food into one fridge and switching the second one off. To make sure your fridge is working effectively, replace worn door seals to keep the cold air in, and make sure it’s set at an efficient temperature (3-4°C for fridges, and minus 15—18°C for freezers). Download our factsheet for more tips.

INVOLVING YOUR WORKPLACE

Calculate what you could save by using a 7 day timer

TRY OUR STANDBY TIMER CALCULATOR

A quick tool to gauge your dollar saving potential

You could potentially save $$$ by using 7 day timers for all of you office appliances.

OTHER IDEAS YOU CAN TRY

Come to a Give Grid workshop and learn how to calculate annual running costs for workplace and home appliances and fixtures - sign up

A LIFETIME OF SAVINGS

Sometimes the cheapest appliance doesn’t pay off in the long run. Download our Smart Purchasing factsheet to get help in choosing a product that’s cost effective over its lifetime

HOT WATER NOT BOILING

Hot water systems can be a big contributor to energy costs for services providing aged care and emergency accommodation. Efficient temperature settings and low flow fittings can reduce water wastage and energy losses. Download our hot water factsheet.

ENERGY GUZZLER SHUT DOWN

Photocopiers and printers can be left inactive 95% of the time in some workplaces, and can use 10 times the standby power of a desktop computer. Check the efficiency settings on your devices, and make sure they are switched off as part of the shut down procedure at the end of the day.

PAPERLESS PAY-OFF

Encourage staff to re-think unnecessary printing and cut back where possible - printers can be big energy guzzlers! Apart from helping to cut your organisation’s electricity bills, it will also save trees, cut down on paper and waste costs, and help keep your head clear by reducing clutter and unnecessary filing.

AUDIO VISUAL VAMPIRES

TV screens, projector lamps and AV standby lights can suck power from the mains long after your meeting or presentation has ended. If this is a problem in your workplace raise it in a staff meeting and ask people to switch off equipment before leaving the room. Draw or print a poster for the back of the meeting room door to remind people to shut down equipment before leaving the room.

KITCHEN DOWNTIME

Microwaves use more energy for standby power during their lifetime than they do cooking food, so give it and other kitchen appliances a rest on the holidays by switching them all of